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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2005)
The INDEPENDENT, November 17, 2005 Page 13 Public Works head resigns; council reviews planning, funding Banks City Council held a public hearing November 8 to consider an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, up- dating long term housing and residential land needs. City planner KJ Won explained that a forecasting model had been used with census 2000 data to predict growth and housing needs. Income levels and the age of heads of households were included in the model, along with varying building den- sities, to determine how much land may be required. The model predicts that Banks will need an additional 104 acres of residential land by the year 2024. Banks has 13 acres available now, so an ad- ditional 91 acres will be re- quired. The amendment is a change in language only; no boundaries are changed. It is one step of the periodic review dictated by the comprehensive plan, and looks at future needs. There was no public input. Council convened their regu- lar meeting following the public hearing, and had a first reading of the resolution adopting the amendment. Public Works Superinten- dent Tim Grossnickle resigned his position effective November 8. Council voted to accept his resignation and is considering how best to fill his position. In the Service Leah M. Orlowski Leah M. Orlowski graduated from the Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) Leader Development and Assessment Course, also known as “Opera- tion Warrior Forge,” at Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Wash. The 33 days of training pro- vides professional training and evaluation in the aspects of mil- itary life, administration and lo- gistical support. Although con- tinued military training and leadership development is in- cluded in the curriculum, the primary focus of the course is to develop and evaluate each cadet’s officer potential as a leader by exercising the cadet’s intelligence, common sense, ingenuity and stamina. The cadet command assesses each cadet’s performance and progress in officer traits, quali- ties and professionalism while attending the course. Orlowski is currently attend- ing the University of Oregon, Eugene. She is the daughter of Robert C. and Pamela A. Or- lowski of Banks. She is a 2002 graduate of Banks High School. Mayor Mike Lyda will bring an updated job description to the next council meeting, when var- ious options will be discussed. The city’s annual audit process, now underway, has revealed that funding for the new public works building was not handled correctly. The city used city streets and roads fund to pay for construction, which the auditor determined is not a valid use of street funds. To pay back the fund, Council transferred $156,000 from the water reserve fund. Council also put a hold on additional work on the public works building, pending funding and city hiring decisions. The building can currently be used for storage. City recorder Jolynn Becker presented information on codifi- cation of the city’s ordinances. Codification involves reviewing ordinances to make them con- sistent with each other and with state codes and laws, and helps avoid ordinances that are unenforceable or out of sync with the state. Ideally, ordi- nances are codified on an an- nual or semi-annual basis. Banks has not codified its ordi- nances for years. Cost estimates for codifica- tion services ranged from $9000 - $11,000. Becker will have a recommendation for council at their next meeting. Library commission member Christine Fore appeared before council to talk about how the city might be able to pursue grants. Fore, who has won many grants for non-profit or- ganizations, explained that the best way to win grants is to de- velop a clear image of what the community needs. A proposed project needs to be viable and of clear benefit to the communi- ty. It is also best if the project will eventually support itself fi- nancially. She cited community buildings, youth recreation buildings and swimming pools as examples of projects that are a benefit to their communi- ty and can be self-supporting. Fore suggested that a first step for Banks would be to spend a year gathering input from the community and determining what the city’s highest needs are. A capacity-building grant could be sought to help with planning expenses. Council approved a one year deferral of the $13,000 fine against the Wilkes Street Apart- ments for nuisance violations, as long as there are no addi- tional nuisance citations. Jean Lepschat, who has taken over the apartments from her son, appeared before council re- garding the fine. Lepschat has undertaken extensive repairs and cleaning, and has paid all abatement costs incurred by the city for the property. Council adopted the Chronic Nuisance Ordinance after it was read for the second time. Another ordinance, regard- ing business licenses, was read for the first time. 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